Funny thing, isn’t it? A year ago if anyone had told me that Genesis
were reforming and that I would be going to see them in rehearsal and in Brussels
of all places…..! Well, I would have laughed.

Well, a year later and I still can’t get the inane grin off my chops
because I did indeed receive a treasured invitation to attend the final rehearsal
in Brussels – it still feels like a dream.

Arriving at the Flanders Expo, the first thing that struck me was the sheer
scale of it. From the outside, the hall is enormous and it soon became obvious
why this venue was chosen when we were admitted to the hall itself. The new
stage show is, without doubt, the biggest I have ever seen for a Genesis gig.
One enormous screen comprised of a myriad of smaller ones is the backdrop, supported
by “ribs” which also hold a part of the lighting rig, is the backdrop
in front of which the band’s equipment appears to be incredibly small.
Further parts of the lighting gantry extend like greedy fingers out towards
the audience. At each end of the stage a circular screen also appears.

Eventually being allowed into the venue, I found myself unbelievably in the
best seat for a Genesis gig I have ever had:- direct centre with only a mere
20 empty feet of space separating me from the stage – a fan’s dream
come true!

Having avoided any spoilers prior to the show (easy for him; he hasn’t
got access to the internet! SB), I gave myself over to speculation about the
show as we waited for the band to arrive. It was great to see some familiar
faces among the luck attendees including Mario Giametti and Helmut Janisch as
well as meeting up with various members of the band’s management including
Annie Callingham and Carol Willis, both of whom have been so helpful to TWR
over the years.

Show time eventually arrived and the band took the stage to as thunderous a
reception as 200 plus people could give in such a big hall. Speculation now
over, the band opened with a re-jigged version of the “Duke Suite”,
comprising Behind The Lines, Dukes End and Turn It On Again. The band had indeed
done exactly that, and the adrenalin was soon flowing both on stage and off!

No Son Of Mine followed with an even more impressive visual set up. It was
soon also obvious that the band had dropped the key in several songs in the
set to help Phil’s voice, but there was no sign of it here as the band
tore through this epic track.

Land Of Confusion gave us all a bit of light relief before the glory that was
In The Cage, replete with brand new visual effects. I wondered which “medley”
would be attached to it this time only to be surprised by a new twist. Yes,
Raven and Cinema Show were present and correct but this time accompanied by
Duke’s Travels which segued perfectly into Afterglow at which point I
was very near to doing my own impression of a Squonk! Afterglow was here in
all it’s glory complete with dry ice and purple lighting – just
like the good old days!

A surprise inclusion here was Hold On My Heart although it is obvious that
it’s inclusion is to give both the band and Phil a chance to recuperate
after their previous exertions and, if you are of a cynical nature; also to
give the audience a “pee-break”!

Phil admitted that he hadn’t written a “scary story” that
should accompany the next song yet but Home By The Sea doesn’t really
need that much of an introduction anyway. Fundamentally the song hasn’t
changed that much although the new visuals on the enormous screen look even
more dramatic than before.

Memories of my first ever Genesis gig next with a stonking version of Follow
You Follow Me. A simple song given a great work out by the band and the visuals
throughout displaying references to the band’s previous albums was incredibly
clever and effective.

Maybe it is not surprising to hear that the band followed this with the instrumental
version of Firth of Fifth which really gave Daryl a chance to shine and he took
it like the trooper he is, rifling like a man possessed. I was surprised by
the inclusion of I Know What I Like – sans medley – a truly wonderful
performance and one which brought back so many memories for me – and many
others too, I am sure!

Another surprise was the inclusion of Mama, a song I know Phil has struggled
with over the years – not surprising really, it places a great strain
on anyone trying to sing it. The change in key certainly helped and Phil delivered
an impressive vocal performance.

Seeing Mike pick up a double neck guitar made me wonder, and Phil’s reference
to puberty didn’t help matters either, but nothing can really describe
the way I felt when the band launched into Ripples, a song I have not had the
pleasure of seeing them perform since 1978!

Contrasting the acoustic glories of that with the pop sensibilities of Throwing
It All Away certainly gave a delicious counter point to the two sides of the
Genesis persona:- prog/pop and personally I think it worked really well.

Domino has already become a classic and Phil’s storytelling has become
even cheesier as the years go on. Even so, the song itself is another masterpiece
of musical and vocal storytelling on the truly epic scale that only Genesis
can achieve. Visually, Domino, like Home By The Sea, has always been stunning,
but the new lighting and effects really have to be SEEN to be believed –
stunning!

The drum duet between Phil and Chester has taken on almost legendary status
but this time round the guys have taken in a new twist. I wondered why two chairs
were situated between the two drum kits. Now was time to find out. As Phil and
Chester got behind their respective kits, instead of battering the Hell out
of them, they traded licks on the chairs instead. A wonderful acknowledgement
of how the duet had been worked out in hotel rooms in the first place. Eventually
of course, the two protagonists did get behind their kits for the rest of what
is usually referred to as “five minutes of thunder” leading into
a blistering Los Endos which was followed by the truncated version of Tonight,
Tonight, Tonight, obviously to ease the strain on Phil’s voice.

Opting to close the show with Invisible Touch was both predictable in some
ways – like it or not folks, it gets the crowd going – but also
surprising given the fact that it is a bitch of a song to sing. The melody goes
up and down like a yo-yo but Phil coped admirably.

The band took their well deserved bows and left the stage but no-one was in
any doubt that they would return and they soon did with the opening beats of
I Can’t Dance accompanied by even more brand new and amusing visuals.
Phil prowled the stage like a hungry cat and soon had Mike and Daryl in tow
as well.

The final encore was quote a surprise too. I expected an up-tempo finale but
instead we got the sedate beauty of Carpet Crawlers which brought the proceedings
to a suitable close.

And then it was all over. A two and a half hour show which encapsulated forty
years of history by the greatest rock band on the planet. The overall impression
of this gig is that an incredible amount of time, effort, thought and MONEY
has been expended putting it together. The stage show is like nothing else I
have ever seen in 35 years of gigs. Visually, the accompaniments are both appropriate
and in places extremely clever. They augment but never overpower the music.

And it is the music that matters. A forty year career was celebrated here in
glorious sound and vision. I have never seen a show like this one by Genesis
or indeed by anyone else for that matter. The band looked relaxed and seemed
to be thoroughly enjoying themselves – even Tony was seen smiling on more
than one occasion! On this showing, the forthcoming tour will be a roaring success
for both the band and fans old and new – well done guys, fantastic job!